Our main play room is a large open space for children from the age of 1 to 5 years. This space is well lit with natural lighting and plenty of fresh air. At one end the room there is access to our nappy changing room for the younger children, while the toilets for the older children are situated in the middle of the room.

The room is divided into three areas, offering the children the adequate space for the different age groups to develop and learn in. All areas benefit from direct access to the outdoor area, providing the children with the opportunity to participate in daily outdoor activities.

1-2 Years

Our Junior Gems one area offers children the chance to develop their independence. The room is divided into two areas: the carpet area provides the children with the space to enjoy role play activities in the house corner, quiet time in the story corner while the non-slip floored area provides the children with the space to become creative through art and craft or messy in the sand and water area.

Nursery Practitioners in this area will follow the child’s individual care plan ensuring that each child’s needs are met. The child’s keyworker will observe and record the child’s development using our online learning system and planning activities for the child’s next steps in learning.

The children also have the opportunity to participate in various sensory based activities, which allows them to further enhance all areas of development.

2-3 Years

Junior Gems two area is also split into two spaces offering the children the opportunity to participate in messy activities such as painting, water play on the non-slip surface and the carpet area allowing the children to become involved in a group game such as sound lotto, or jigsaws. Our story area is a quiet are for the children to relax and enjoy listening to a story or singing session, with the house corner encouraging the children to practice and develop their social skills while our indoor climbing frame encourages the children to use their balance and gross motor skills. The carpet area also has areas for construction, music corner and small world resources which develops their imaginative play.

Nursery practitioners in this area work with the Pre-Birth to Three framework. With keyworkers observing and recording individual children’s development and learning, planning for their next stages of development as well as their interests.

Pre School

The pre-school room follows Curriculum for Excellence which helps educate children, preparing them for school. Through-out the day the children have the chance to enjoy structured and free flow play. The room has several different areas within in it, the literacy area is an area within the nursery the children can practice their mark making, writing, name recognition and drawing skills with a variety of materials and resources. The numeracy area can help the children with counting and simple maths skills by using equipment that they can sort, match, weigh and measure.

The messy area is a large area within pre-school where the children can be expressive, the children can enjoy: gluing, painting, playdough, clay, scissors, gluk, sand and water. Other areas within the nursery include a science area where the children can experiment and learn about the world around them, small world to develop their imagination and creative side, a quiet story corner where children can go to enjoy books and stories in a large group or in the house corner where the can practice their social skills. The children in pre-school can also participate in daily cooking or baking activities. This encourages the children to eat well, while using and developing various skills.

The outdoor area is used on a free access basis and the children can access the area when they like. The nursery provides outdoor suits for all the children so they can enjoy the garden in all weathers!

Throughout the year our pre-school children take part in projects which help prepare them for school.

The children currently attend swimming lessons, visits to the local nursing home and attend nature play sessions within the local woodland areas.